Nature’s Fynd rebrands from Sustainable Bioproducts, raises $80m Series B to rollout new protein products
Sustainable Bioproducts, the startup that’s using a microbe discovered in Yellowstone National Park to manufacture alternative protein food products, has rebranded to Nature’s Fynd and raised $80 million in Series B backing.
“In these challenging times, securing food for our growing population under the immense pressure of climate change becomes even more urgent,”
Nature’s Fynd is set to release a range of food products from breakfast and lunch through to snacks and dinner made from its proprietary microbe-produced protein, dubbed Fy, which contains all nine essential amino acids, as well as dietary fiber, calcium, and vitamins. New investor Mousse Partners, which is related to the fashion house Chanel, in addition backed.
Andrew Chung, founder of 1955 Capital – which will remain the largest shareholder in the company after this round – stated Nature’s Fynd did not need to raise at this time. But the excitement surrounding alternative protein and the growing importance of finding new protein sources meant the business was receiving a lot of interest from several groups. “This was a pre-emptive move to raise new capital and will allow the business to accelerate its commercialization efforts. It will start producing products at the start of this month from its new 35,000 square foot manufacturing facilities in Chicago, with plans to double the size of the team to 100 by the end of the year,” he briefed AFN.
A microbe producing “food-like” protein… Nature’s Fynd, which has an R&D center in Montana, was spun out of NASA-supported work into organisms that thrive in the extreme environmental conditions of Yellowstone’s geothermal springs. That’s where it discovered the microbe Fusarium str. yellowstonensis .
Not only does the microbe create a complete protein but it’s as well highly functional, producing what Chung described as “a food-like substance, which gives a lot of the texture and structure of food for free.” Nature’s Fynd is turning it into a variety of food products including meat and dairy alternatives, powders, and protein drinks. The business could also become an element supplier to others.
In what the firm describes as a breakthrough fermentation technique, but importantly, they in addition have IP covering the nature of the fermentation tech they’ve developed, that’s so cost-effective and grows protein using a fraction of the land and water resources typically required.” …at “China prices” Nature’s Fynd uses fermentation to produce Fy from the microbe. Our innovative technology was developed by studying nature’s own solutions for adapting – and ultimately thriving – in environments with limited resources.”
- Who: Nature’s Fynd · Series
- Money: $80 million · $1 billion · $25 billion · $33 million
- Figures: 80 million · 1 billion · 25 billion · 33 million
